Filipe Escalus
Lord Filipe Escalus is the second son of Olander Escalus, and displaces his older brother Anders as heir when it becomes clear Fililpe is mage-gifted. Filipe is a sincerely nice fellow, but he never should have been in a leadership position. He has the misfortune of being best known as his older brother's usurper, and the person who orchestrated the initial meeting between his sister Heather and Cyril Oberon, both scenarios that ended in tragedy. Backstory Fililpe was the secondborn son of Lord Olander Escalus, coming into the world about five years younger than the eldest son, Anders. By the time Filipe was born, Olander was already extremely worried about the future of the house, because Anders hadn't yet shown any signs of magical ability. Filipe saw little of his father, however, growing up mostly in the company of his mother Velvet and later his little brother Dimitri. Anders too occasionally made a point to spend time with Fililpe, despite being busy with his lessons in ruling the house. So it was Anders who got to see his little brother's first ever act of magic. Both boys were in the garden of their manor in Heleos one spring, when Filipe was four and Anders nine respectively. Filipe touched a rose on one of the bushes in the garden, and it changed color under his hand. Startled he told Anders he'd found a magic bush- but when Anders attempted to produce the same result, nothing happened. Filipe changed a few more flowers colors, but Anders was still unable to get the "magic bush" to work. Eventually, the older Escalus boy hit upon the answer; it was Filipe, not the bush, that was magical. Knowing how disappointed his father often was about the fact that the eldest boy lacked magic, Anders became excited about Filipe's magic and the idea that Olander would have the mage son he'd always wanted. He insisted that they tell their father the news, and in spite of his nervousness Filipe agreed. As predicted, Olander was overjoyed to discover Filipe's magic, but what neither of the boys anticipated was that no more than a month later, the lord of House Escalus would disinherit Anders in favor of Filipe. Being barely more than a toddler at the time, Filipe didn't really even think to object. He just meekly did as he was told. However, Anders was horrified, and in spite of his best efforts not to blame his little brother, the older boy gradually came to resent Filipe and his magic. The young mage tried to appease his brother, but Anders only grew more and more sullen and withdrawn. As he saw less of Anders, however, Filipe suddenly found himself almost constantly keeping company with his father. Olander threw himself into training Filipe as his heir with enthusiasm and vigor he'd never had for Anders. Filipe came to be extremely close to Olander, basking in his father's praise and affection. He hung on every word Olander said, holding the man up as the icon of everything a true mage and lord aught to be. Over time, however, Anders' resentment simmered and bubbled just under the surface. One day it boiled over, and he shoved Filipe to the ground, shouting that he hated his brother. Stunned and afraid, Filipe began to actively avoid Anders. As Olander and his oldest son's relationship deteriorated and they began to have frequent explosive arguments, Filipe realized just how much his becoming the heir had complicated not only their family relationships, but the entire political landscape of Corvus. His youthful shyness blossomed into a raging inferiority complex during this time period. He began to seriously question his worthiness as the heir to House Escalus, though he still clung to the hope that Olander had some hidden plan Anders just wasn't seeing. His father was the best, after all, he knew everything and could do anything. All of these desperate delusions were shattered the day Anders ran away from home. Olander was incensed to find his oldest son having vanished in the middle of the night, leaving behind only a letter explaining that he was going to become a knight for House Jade, and that the Escaluses shouldn't follow him because he wasn't coming back. To Filipe's astonishment, Olander took this request absolutely literally, making no effort to go after Anders once he'd established that the boy was already beyond the border of Escalus territory. Instead Olander redoubled his efforts with Filipe's training, intensifying it in an effort to mold the shy boy into a model heir. However, Filipe was wracked with guilt over the way things had turned out. With Anders' departure, the relationships between the family members only soured even more, with Olander completely ignoring his nonmage son Dimitri and lavishing attention on his mage children, Filipe and the three year old Heather. Dimitri became extremely distant, and Heather came up spoiled rotten. As they all grew older, Dimitri's loneliness turned him towards being an outrageous flirt, embarrassing Olander and further souring the relationship between the two, while Heather became a sweet but greedy and empty-headed young woman. Filipe watched all of this with an ever-increasing downward spiral of despair, knowing that his ascension to heirship had directly set them on this path and feeling like he was somehow responsible for how badly his family had been wrecked. While at the Iphicles Institute learning war magic, as was tradition, Filipe found himself assigned several young women who had the highest scores in the school as tutors. He was baffled by this but didn't question it, especially when several of the girls made it a point to flirt with and flatter the shy young nobleman. He fell head over heels for one girl in particular, but staunchly refused to pursue his affections because he knew he would ultimately marry a girl chosen by his father from amongst the nobility. It was difficult for him though, the matter not helped by the fact that his ladylove fed the infatuation at every opportunity with flowery compliments and small but unmistakably intimate touches. Flustered and sinking even further into despair over the issue, and with no one he really trusted in his family to confide in about it, Filipe ended up turning to another one of his student tutors- one who was not ''trying to Woo him, and who had enough down to earth horse sense that he valued her opinion. This girl was a dowdy, plain ginger haired peasant girl from Kine named Annabelle. ''To be continued... Appearances *Inheritance - Filipe appears multiple times in the fic acting as the unintentional antagonist to Anders, robbing him of all of Olander's affection and ruining his life. He eventually comes to fear his brother, avoiding him for the most part until Anders runs away at sixteen. *Ghost of the Past - Filipe goes with his father and his wife Annabelle to visit the Corvid capital of Solis, and be formally introduced as the heir to House Escalus. However, he sees a very familiar face when he gets there... *Dominion - Part One - Filipe appears briefly, welcoming Lord Cyril Obering, heir to House Oberon, to Heleos. He assigns his younger sister Heather to be Cyril's guide in the city, inadvertently spelling the young man's doom. *Virtue and Trust - When Wynn Cressida pays a visit to Heleos to have his son Linden archmage tested, Filipe expects only the normal run of political dancing and pleasantries. However, when Wynn starts accusing Dimtiri's wife Grace of adultery and flinging insults about, Filipe has to step up to the plate and prove he really does have what it takes to rule House Escalus and protect his family- in spite of all rumors to the contrart. Personality Filipe was always a very timid child. With the weight of his responsibilities bearing down on him and the knowledge that his being the heir at all caused a great deal of unhappiness both in his family and throughout Corvus, Filipe grew into a man with a massive inferiority complex and self-esteem issues. Though he did his best to project the confidence and self-assurance he felt a proper nobleman should have, it was a very fragile facade. Given everything he had to deal with during his lifetime, Filipe occasionally lapsed into episodes of severe depression. Leadership did not come naturally for Filipe, and it was only by hard work and sheer stubborn refusal to give up that he held his house together- that, and the support of his family, upon whom he depends a great deal. However, in the wake of his sister Heather's betrayal Filipe matured tremendously. Rather than breaking under the pressure of his house's disgrace, Filipe found himself tempered and honed by that pressure. He finally gave up trying to live by someone else's standard for what a lord aught to be, and resolved to rule his region on his own terms and by his own merits. After all, if he was at rock bottom, he had nowhere else to go but up. This liberation allowed him to finally overcome his timidity and walk with confidence. Though leadership still did not and never would come naturally to him, he became a worthy lord for House Escalus through his sheer stubborn will and tenacity. In spite of all this, he is a surprisingly warm, friendly individual under both the old shyness and the new cool facade. Once he feels comfortable with a person he is extremely kind, almost to a fault. He is also quick to forgive a person for transgressions, refusing to hold a grudge even when he would have every right to. He is also extremely protective of the people close to him, having experienced the loneliness that comes from being ostracized for almost all of his life. Relationships Olander Escalus Much like his brother Anders, Filipe grew up very much in his father's shadow. When he was small he absolutely idolized his father, worshipping Olander and holding up his every word as gospel. The boy wanted more than anything to prove to his father that in spite of his timid personality he could become a good lord. And for the most part the two of them got on quite well. Filipe was not the ideal leader or the most powerful mage, but he was decent, and his tremendous determination to rise above his own shortcomings impressed Olander. As he grew older, however, he came to realize that his father was as flawed as any other person, especially with regards to his treatment of his family. He felt guilty for the blatant favoritism his father showed him, but there was little he could do about it and he had no desire to rebuff Olander's affections. Anders Escalus Filipe's relationship with Anders was very rocky when they where children, with the oldest of the Escalus boys resenting Filipe and harboring an irrational loathing towards him. Filipe only ever wanted his brother to like him, but unfortunately Anders refused to have anything to do with Filipe and eventually even became violent towards him. Filipe ultimately came to be afraid of his older brother and avoided him whenever possible. After Anders left, Filipe became deeply depressed, blaming himself for the way their family had fallen apart and wishing he had done more to try and repair the relationship between himself and Anders, as well as between Anders and the rest of their family. Dimitri Escalus For most of their childhoods, Filipe and Dimitri had very little to do with one another. Filipe was usually busy training to be the heir, and Dimitri spent more time with Anders because the two of them related to one another, both of them lacking magic. As teenagers this rift didn't get any better, with Filipe's training intensifying and Dimitri becoming a notorious flirt who spent more time out in the city meeting girls than he did with his family. However, after the death of their father Filipe almost had a nervous breakdown from the stress of his position and his own inadequacy, and Dimitri was reminded of a promise he'd made to Anders years before to always watch out for Filipe. Determined to make good on that promise, he started spending more time with his brother. Filipe was initially uncertain of this and a bit suspicious that Dimitri might be trying to take advantage of his weaknesses, but over time he warmed up to his younger brother. The two of them became very close, with Dimitri's more calm and personable nature helping to balance Filipe and keep him grounded. Dimitri's sense of humor also helps the lord of House Escalus to relax and lighten up every so often, something he badly needs. Heather Escalus Filipe never really knew his younger sister all that well, considering he was deeply wrapped up in his training as the heir when she was growing up. This would ultimately come back to bite him, as he never saw past the pleasant facade she wore on the surface to realize Heather was a power-hungry, manipulative sociopath. He feels a deep sense of shame for the actions Heather committed against Cyril and the rest of House Oberon, and as with most things he takes personal responsibility for what happened. Annabelle Escalus His wife and close confidant. Catia and Willow Escalus Filipe has had a rather rotten run of luck when it comes to having children. His first child, a son named Thaddeus, died at two years old from malaria, and a great many of his subsequent children died during or shortly after birth, or were never carried to term. As such, Filipe absolutely treasures Catia and Willow. He is extremely protective of both girls, somewhat ''over''protective when they were younger, though he gradually backed off some as they matured. The fastest way to get Filipe angry is to threaten or insult his daughters. Catia in particular he has a lot of high hopes for, as she is his heir and will eventually inherit the Escalus estate. Chelsey Barrow Kid he felt sorry for. His pity ended up biting him. Wynn Cressida >>; They are not best buddies. Category:Medieval characters Category:Non-game characters Category:Corvids Category:Minor Nobles